1. Field
This disclosure is generally related to a system for generating augmented reality. More specifically, this disclosure is related to a distributed system for generating augmented reality.
2. Related Art
Augmented reality (AR) enhances a user's perception of the real world by superimposing computer-generated sensory input, such as sound, video, graphics, or GPS data, over a real-world environment in real time. Current augmented reality solutions generally run on a single machine/device. More specifically, a camera mounted on the device perceives scenes of the real-world environment and transmits its output to a tracking module (of the device), which identifies features in the real-world images and then aligns a plurality of computer-generated objects in 3D space with the scenes being tracked, based on an analysis of the relevant positions of the features in the real-world images, sometimes assisted by a 3D model. Finally, a rendering engine (on the device) renders the scenes with the objects in the positions/orientations determined by the tracking module on top of the real-world images, generating the appearance of virtual objects integrated with the real-world scenes. However, the increased prevalence of networked personal video cameras (often associated with smartphones) means that the single machine is not appropriate in all situations.